Kung Fu Panda: TiPo Short Stories
by Inkblot95
Summary: Just a collection of stories about our two favorite kung fu masters, Po Ping and Master Tigress. Rating may change with each chapter.
1. Tall Tale

**A/N:** Hello my fellow readers! I'm Inkblot95, and this is my very first Kung Fu Panda fan fiction! Technically, this is also my first story on this account, but I have another account where I've written 7 stories for the Teen Titans. Bottom line, I've had some experience writing fan fiction stories. I'm not much of a talker, so the only thing I want to mention is the fact that my writing skills are pretty amaturish. I am well aware of the fact that I can't spell, use proper grammar, do story structure, or figuring out where to put the stupid commas, so please, for those of you who are really picky about those kind of stuff just bear with me. It's just as painful for me to correct my mistakes as it is for you to read them. Believe me, it drives me nuts!

**Disclaimer:** Inkblot95 does not own anything Kung Fu Panda related including the characters, the Valley of Peace, techniques, or anything else. There _may_ be some OC's that I might include in my stories, but other than that, I don't own anything.

**Rating: **K+ for mentioning the birds and the bees story. Other than that, there's noting really bad in this, unless you think a bunny wanting to use the wuxi finger hold on other bunnies is pretty graphic.

**Chapter 1:** Tall Tale

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><p>"Good morning Dragon Warrior!" The group of bunnies chorused together.<p>

"Good morning students." Po grinned and bowed, in which his class did the same.

'Man, I'll never get tired of this. It's so awesome!' He thought with a goofy smile plastered on his face.

"So, are you guys ready for another fun filled day of kung fu awesomeness?"

"You bet we are!" The children cheered excitedly.

"I want to learn how to chop a whole cinderblock in half!" A boy bunny exclaimed and thrusted his paw down in a karate-chop motion.

"I want to be able to punch holes through walls!" A tan bunny threw a punch at one of the Jade Palace's walls, winced, and drew his fist back in pain.

"I WANT TO LEARN THE WUXI FINDER HOLD!" A girl bunny yelled and chased a screaming crowd of bunnies around the training yard with her pointer finger and thumb extended, like she was going to pinch someone.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, let's not get carried away here." Po raised his paws up in a calming manner and motioned for the children to take their seats.

The bunnies obeyed without a moment's hesitation and gathered around the panda with eager ears. As soon as they were seated a tiny paw shot up in the air.

"Are you going to be teaching us some super-secret moves?"

"Sorry guys, but you're still not ready for the tough stuff."

The children groaned, which made Po chuckle.

"Besides, haven't I told you before that if I'd tell you the secret moves, they wouldn't be _secret_ moves anymore? I got something better for you guys to do anyhow."

The children's eyes sparkled with excitement and began to ask questions, all at once. Po was having a hard time understanding what the bunnies were saying since all he heard was a mess of words and noises.

"Hold on, please, one at a time! You're making my head hurt." Po chuckled.

The children quieted down. There was a moment of silence until everyone's paws were up in the air.

"Okaaay, you. What's your question?" Po pointed to a gray bunny wearing a pink robe.

She seemed a little timid when she stepped forward. Her eyes never left the ground when she asked, "W-what are you going to teach us today Mister Dragon Warrior, sir?"

"I'm glad you asked, young lady." Po beamed, making the bunny blush a little and shyly return to her seat.

"Today," He waved the class closer to him. They scooted closer and leaned forward.

"Today, I will teach you-" He trailed off, trying to act all mystically and kung fuey by adding to the suspense.

"Yeah-" The children urged on.

"-How to focus your inner chi." Po finished enthusiastically.

Everyone went silent. The bunnies stared at their teacher blankly.

"I know, I know. Exciting right?" Po rubbed his hands together.

"No." Someone said from the back of the group.

"Laaame." Another voice chimed in.

"What the heck is chi?"

Soon enough, everyone began to talk at once again. Po felt his headache returning and pinched the bridge of his nose. He closed his eyes, took a few deep breaths, just like Shifu showed him when they meditated, opened his eyes again, and stood up.

"Everyone quiet down!" He hollered over the roaring children.

Again the bunnies went silent, their concentration refocused on their teacher once again.

Po sighed happily, "Much better. Now, focusing your chi is very important in kung fu. Without doing so, you'll never master anything."

"I still think this sounds boring. Can we do something else?"

"Guys, c'mon. This is important." Po groaned.

"Tell us another one of your stories Po. You know, like how you told us about the Five." The same tan bunny who wanted to learn how to punch holes in walls suggested.

"No, stories are boring. I want to hit something."

"Actually, I'm all for the story thing."

"Yeah me too."

Eventually, the rest of the class were in a unanimous agreement with this idea.

"Y'know, the whole purpose of me being a teacher is to actually teach you guys something, not to tell stories." Po stated.

"But you taught us about patience,"

"And courage," A girl bunny called out.

"And discipline," The familiar tan bunny raised his paw.

"And compassion," A boy bunny pointed out.

"D-don't forget confidence," The shy bunny added.

"-When you told us stories."

"Yeah, I know, but Grandmaster Shifu won't let it slide this time and I'll get in trouble for not educating you-"

"Pleaaase?" The class begged.

Po sighed, thinking it over in his head, before finally giving in.

"Okay, you've convinced me. So what do you want to hear this time? The Battle of Firey Demon Mountain? How Oogway became Grandmaster of the Jade Palace? Or maybe the story of how I ended up finding a lucky silver coin near the Sacred Peach Tree of Heavenly Wisdom?"

"Tell us a love story." A girl bunny suggested.

Po jerked his head back, not in the very least expecting a request like that. The rest of the girls nodded their heads feverishly.

"A l-love story?" Po asked, his cheeks turning slightly pink.

"No way! I don't want to hear some crummy love story. Only girly-girls like that dumb stuff." The tan bunny grunted.

"It's not dumb!" The girls argued.

"It is too." The boys retaliated.

"Is not!"

"Is too!"

"Not!"

"Too!"

"Not!"

"Too!"

"I'm sorry, but I can't tell love stories." Po butted in.

"Why not?"

"Because he's not a girl, stupid."

Po shook his head, "No, it's just that... well, you see... I'm not good with all that mushy stuff."

The boys smirked and stuck their tongues out at the girls.

"But, surely you have been in love before, Dragon Warrior. Why not tell us your own love story?"

At that, Po's face turned a bright red. The girls gasped and screamed in a fan-girlish like way.

"Master Po is in love with someone! That is so cute!" They giggled.

"I-I am n-not!" Po ran his paw down his face to try and get rid of his blush.

"Denial." The girls chorused in a sing-song voice.

"You girls are so stupid. The Dragon Warrior doesn't love anyone. He's a kung fu warrior!"

"So? What does it make any difference if he's a kung fu warrior? You can still fall in love!"

"Kung fu warriors don't fall in love. It's just dumb."

"Tell us the story Master Po! Tell us! Tell us!"

"I already told you, I don't love anyone, but if you guys want a love story so badly, then I guess I have no other choice but to tell you one." Po sighed.

"Even if it's the crappiest love story in the history of love stories." He mumbled to himself.

The girls cheered and gathered around Po closer this time. The boys, who were the least enthusiastic, slowly returned to their places in the back. The panda waited for his class to get settled before he began.

"Okay, so there was this guy, and, he's was pretty awesome at kung fu. I mean, he's was like, the best in all of China. His name was, er... um... Po- I mean Ping! Yeah, that sounds about right. His name was Ping and he was a panda."

"Like you?" One of the bunnies asked.

"No! He's nothing like me. My name is Po and his is Ping. Weren't you guys listening?"

"Sorry."

"Anyway," Po continued, "He fought many villains."

"What about the girl?"

Po blinked, "What?"

"You didn't mention the girl. You completely forgot about her."

"The girl? Oh, the girl! Right. Pfft, I didn't forget about the girl. She was, uh-"

"He wasn't kidding when he said he couldn't tell a love story." A girl bunny with gray fur leaned over and whispered to her friend sitting next to her.

"Hey! I heard that!" He exclaimed.

The children giggled again. Po let out a, "humph," and returned to the story.

"The girl's name was... Tigera? Yep, that's her. And she was a, tiger. She was also a kung fu master just like Ping. Together, with the Furious... I- I mean, together, Ping and Tigera fought to protect China. Did I say they were together?"

"Tigera sounds just like Master Tigress. So is the warrior in love with Master Tigress?"

"Yeah, I mean NO! The tiger is definitely _NOT_ Tigress." Po said.

"Why is a panda in love with a tiger? They're different species!" One of the boy bunnies yelled out in disgust.

"So what if they're different animals. I think Ping and Tigera sound adorable together."

"But then, if they did get together, how would they have babies?"

Po's face went completely red, so red that it actually showed through his fur.

"Whoa now! Who told you about the birds and the bees story? My dad didn't tell me until I was fifteen!"

The bunny stared at him blankly.

"Okay, I don't think I want to know. Hearing it the first time was scarring enough. Anyway, back to the story. So you see, at first, Tigera didn't exactly like Ping. In fact, I would say that she kind of hated him. He tried to do things to impress her but she paid no mind to him."

"Well that's mean! How could she do that to poor Ping when all he's trying to do is impress her? Why doesn't she like him back?" The normally shy bunny protested, folding her arms and furrowed her eyebrows together. Everyone, including Po, looked at her surprised.

"I don't know. I guess love is just weird like that." Po frowned.

"This is a terrible story! It's not even happy! The hero should always get the girl in the end."

Seeing the sad and upset looks on their faces, Po suddenly got an idea to change things up a bit.

"Ah, but you guys didn't let me finish. Yeah, Tigera hated Ping in the beginning, but then one day, Ping faced a horrible and twisted villain who wanted to kill Tigera. Ping wouldn't let this happen and challenged the villain to battle, a battle which lasted for days on end until finally, when Ping was so close to death, he turned the tables on the villain and defeated him effortlessly. From that day forth, Tigera learned to respect Ping as a comrade and as a close friend."

The bunnies awed and smiled.

"A close friend? There's nothing romantic about being a close friend. Don't they ever get together?"

"Again, you didn't let me finish. Just a couple months after Ping's victory, another villain challenged the kung fu warrior for... uh... the hand of his companion, Tigera. Yep, he wanted Tigera as his bride. Ping, being totally devoted for the safety and well-being of Tigera, protected her from the soldiers that Lord She- Sherman, that Lord Sherman sent to retrieve his bride to be. Once he dealt with Lord Sherman's lackeys, he went after Lord Sherman himself. When he faced the devious and demented peacock, he was armed with these weapons that breathed fire and shot some sort of sphere that weighed like... a lot. Plus, it really hurts when you get hit by it."

Po got so distracted by the memory of being shot by Shen's cannon, that he unconsciously rubbed his stomach, almost as to relieve himself of an invisible pain. When he finally noticed what he was doing, he stopped immediately and grinned nervously at his class, in which they grinned back.

"At least, Ping thought so." Po replied.

"The battle between Ping and Lord Sherman was ten times harder than his previous battle but Ping kept his focus on one thing, Tigera. Ping wasn't about to lose the one he cared to a madman. He fought with unbelievable strength, giving his all to defeat the peacock. Lord Sherman, however, wasn't about to play fair. When Ping was so close to defeating Sherman, he turned his weapon of doom on Tigera and proclaimed, 'If I can't have her then neither will you.' Sherman ordered one of his guards to take aim and light the fuse. Just when Tigera thought it was the end, Ping pushed her out of the way and took the blow for her."

"Oh no!" The bunnies gasped.

"Oh yes." Po grinned.

"Tigera ran over and kneeled at Ping's side while Lord Sherman went on about how awesome he was for defeating China's mightiest warrior. She grasped his limp paw in her own and urged him to stay awake, to find the strength he needed to defeat the villain. When Ping was about to close his eyes forever, Tigera leaned in and kissed him. Tigera's kiss gave Ping the strength he needed to stand back up and finish off Sherman. Ping stood proudly over the unconscious peacock as all of China celebrated his victory with him. In that moment Ping and Tigera both realized something, and that something was that they couldn't live without the other. The two shared another passionate kiss under an endless sky of fireworks.

"And that, my students, is the end of my story." Po finished, and waited for their response.

His whole face was red with embarrassment by the time he finished his story. Po, even though he thought that it didn't quite turn out as bad as he originally thought it would, believed that the bunnies would give bad critiques, or worse, laugh at him.

"That... was..."

Po squinted, dreading the moment to come.

"ROMANTIC!" The girls screamed.

"SIMPLY AMAZING!" The boys followed shortly after with their reply.

"Tigera kissed Ping! That is so awesome!" The tan bunny, who hated the whole idea of listening to a love story in the beginning, jumped up and cheered as loud as both the boys and the girls. Everyone went silent and stared at him. When he finally noticed that he could only hear his own voice cheering he stopped and looked around.

"Uh, I mean-" He fiddled with his tiny paws, "Good for Ping."

"That was a lovely story Mister Dragon Warrior, sir."

Po smiled as big as his mouth could stretch. Save for a few other moments in his life, Po felt the proudest he has ever been.

"I'm glad you all liked it."

"So did they get married?"

Po paused for a moment, and then nodded. "Yes, yes they did."

"And they had panda-tiger babies?"

The blush returned to Po's face.

"Enough with the babies already!" Po exclaimed.

The class giggled once more.

"So, now that story time is over, how about I show you some kung fu moves?"

* * *

><p>In the dining hall that night...<p>

The Furious Five and Grandmaster Shifu sat at the table patiently while they talked amongst themselves. Po stood at the stove, scooping his famous noodle soup into each of the seven bowls.

"So, Dragon Warrior?" Shifu began, drawing Po's attention away from the soup and to his Master.

"Yes Master Shifu?"

"How did your teaching session go today?"

"It went great!" Po grinned as he started serving the soup.

"Those kids are fast learners. Almost as fast as me!"

"Yeah, just like you were so quick to master level zero?" Crane joked, causing the other masters to chuckle.

Po scowled, "I thought we were all going to drop that subject."

Crane just laughed, "I'm sorry Po."

Po shook his head and joined in on the laughter, "It's cool. I got to admit, it was pretty funny when I think about it. Even though I'd prefer not to."

He set a bowl in front of Viper and Mantis. Mantis was quick to start on his while Viper maintained most of her table manners by blowing on the soup first, and then placing it inside her mouth.

"It's good to hear that your kung fu class went well." Shifu nodded and joined the others in eating.

"What did you teach them?" Monkey asked.

"Just some basic moves, nothing too big or too small." Po said nonchalantly and handed Monkey and Crane their bowls.

"Cool." Monkey simply replied.

Po walked around the table with two more bowls in his hands and reached over to give Tigress her soup.

"How's your story telling coming along?" Tigress blurted out unexpectedly.

Po nearly dropped her bowl of soup. Some of the hot broth, however, manage to spill all over his torso and scald his skin underneath his fur.

"Ye-_OUCH_!" He quickly, but carefully, set the bowls down on the table and searched around for something to wipe the broth off with. Tigress reached for her dinner cloth and handed it to Po. He grabbed it with incredible speed and briskly wiped the liquid away.

"Wh-what?" Po squeaked.

"Tigress, what does this have to do with our discussion?" Shifu asked skeptically.

Tigress shrugged innocently, "I was just wondering how Po's storytelling was coming along, that's all."

"I-it's fine, I guess?" Po's voice faltered as he handed her the noodle soup and cloth back and quickly sat down in his seat.

'Oh great. I hope that she wasn't eavesdropping on my class today. Especially when I was telling that stupid story.' Po thought to himself.

By now, the rest of the Masters were too busy eating to notice Tigress suddenly lean over in Po's direction.

"I thought the story about the tiger and the panda was actually really good, but the characters sound a little familiar, don't you think?"

At that, Po spat his soup out in a long spout of broth and noodles and splattered across the the table, which, in turn, managed to get on some of the Masters' in the process. Po started choking on the soup that managed to go down his windpipe and began to pound at his chest with his fist.

"Tigress, *thump* can I *thump* talk to *cough cough* you outside *THUMP*."

"Alright," Tigress told Po then turned in Shifu's direction, "Master, may we be excused."

"Please, by all means." Shifu said crossly as he wiped the soup on his face away with his hands.

Tigress followed Po out of the dining room and into the hallway. Po's obnoxious coughing echoed outside until it was faintly heard, then silenced.

* * *

><p>"How much did you hear?" Po asked hoarsely.<p>

"Pretty much the whole thing." Tigress said seriously.

"Oh." Po felt the heat rise to his face to a point where he felt like his fur had caught on fire. Beads of sweat gathered around his forehead and his paws. The two stood there in awkward silence with Po prodding his pointer fingers together and looking in every possible direction but the feline's who was standing with her arms crossed and her body leaning casually against the door frame.

"I told them I wasn't good at telling love stories." He mumbled to himself.

"You're not very good at making up names either. Not to mention you're a bit of an over exaggerator."

"Geez, I am sosososo sorry! I shouldn't have told that stupid story."

Po was literally shaking with embarrassment. The way she was staring at him made Po feel like she was using some sort of shrinking ray to make him feel smaller. The sweat began to pour out of him. His fur sort of glistened in the light from all of the tiny water droplets that clung to the tips of his fur.

'This is BEYOND embarrassing. Why did you have to let your big mouth run, huh Po? You couldn't just keep your dumb fantasies to yourself.' His conscious was screaming inside his head.

"Um i-is i-" Po gulped, "Is it ge-getting hot i-in here? Or is it j-just me?"

His voice cracked again for what felt like the millionth time that day. He scratched his neck nervously.

"No. It's just you." Tigress said flatly.

Po took a deep breath. Gods did he want to hide right now. What he wouldn't give to own a shell.

"You probably hate me right now. I'd understand if you did and I can't even _begin_ to say how sorry I am. It wasn't right for me to tell tall tales instead of actually doing my job. But don't worry Tigress, believe me when I say that'll never happen aga-"

Suddenly, Tigress leaned forward and planted a quick kiss on his lips. Po's eyes widened. When she pulled away, her normal hardcore expression was replaced with a warm and loving one.

"Like I said, I enjoyed the story." She simply said.

Tigress patted Po on the head and started to head back to the dining hall. All Po could do was stare at her retreating form. He tried to find his voice, but his jaw had long since gone slack and his brain felt like mush inside his skull.

"Oh, and one more thing," Tigress turned around slightly, "Ping and Tigera'll probably have to adopt. They _are_ different species after all."

That did it. Po's mind completely shut down. He felt his body rock back and forth until he felt the air rush against his face and his back hit the floor. The last thing he heard was the sound of laughter before he finally passed out.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** And there you have it. I'm sorry if any of you guys think the story is kind of suckish, but hey, I'm not a professional author. I just do this for fun. So, if you guys want, feel free to review and tell me what you thought about it. Don't be afraid to leave me some _constructive_ criticism for those of you who think my story might be lacking, or to help me improve my writing abilities for future stories. Thanks again for taking the time to read this.

~Inkblot95


	2. Hero

**A/N: **Hello again. Here is my second story! Sorry about the wait, but I have this thing where I can only write, draw, or do anything creative when I have my "creative burst day". It's weird, I know, but I'm weird like that. This chapter is a little different than the last chapter. For one, it's probably not as humorous. Secondly, it's not really romantic. And finally, this chapter will take place in the past, y'know, when Po was a kid and everyone was a little younger. This is basically my idea of how Po got into Kung Fu and how he became a fan of Tigress. That's all I'm going to say. I don't want to give away too much or I might ruin the story.

**Disclaimer:** Inkblot95 does not own anything Kung Fu Panda related including the characters, the Valley of Peace, techniques, or anything else. There may be some OC's that I might include in my stories, but other than that, I don't own anything.

**Rating: **K+ to T for violence

**Chapter 2:** Hero

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><p>The sun was about halfway across the sky over the Valley of Peace. Everything was tranquil, or so it would be that way until around noon when the villagers would crowd into Mr. Ping's Noodle Restaurant for lunch. So, to prepare for the lunch rush, Mr. Ping stood at the wash bucket in the back of his shop, cleaning the dirty dishes. After drying the last bowl and setting it with the others on the shelf, he wobbled over to the stairs.<p>

"Po m'boy!" Mr. Ping called up the stairwell, "Are you dressed yet? I still need you to run down to the market and pick up my order of vegetables before the hungry customers get here."

"Almost daddy, just… give me… a second-" A young voice, who sounded like it was struggling with something, called back.

The grey, Chinese goose heard a lot of noise coming from his son's room, but what _really_ drew his attention was when he heard something heavy hit the ground, which in turn rattled the whole house.

"Po! What on earth are you doing up there? Are you alright?" Mr. Ping exclaimed, fearing that his son might've hurt himself.

"I'm okay, I just fell." Po assured his father.

Mr. Ping scoffed, "Well I knew _that_."

He turned around and walked away to grab some money to give to Po. Suddenly, he heard his son tromping down the stairs.

"Kung Fu Warrior Po is ready for action! Evil beware of my awesomeness!" The panda cub shouted and jumped over the last four steps.

Mr. Ping dropped the yen in his wing and spun around. Po landed on his cape, which wrapped itself around his foot, and sent him spiraling forward into a sack of flour. Po's father rushed over and helped him to his feet.

"How many times must I tell you? You cannot fool around in the house! You'll wind up hurting yourself, if you haven't already."

Po coughed up some of the flour and rubbed the rest of it from his eyes and face. He was covered from head to toe in the white powder. Despite the seriousness of the situation, Mr. Ping couldn't control himself from laughing.

"I'm sorry." Po said meekly.

As he looked him over for injuries, he noticed that Po had a blanket tied around his neck.

"Is that the blanket that I just washed yesterday?" Mr. Ping sighed.

Po glanced down at the cloth, then back up at his father, and smiled nervously.

"_Maaaybe_."

"You're getting it all dirty. Now I'll have to wash it again." Mr. Ping shook his head disapprovingly.

"And just why are you wearing it around your neck? You could've choked yourself when you fell on it."

"I'm a Kung Fu warrior daddy!" Po said happily, motioning to his neck with his pointer finger, "This is my cape. Every great warrior has one."

He then placed his paw on his head. His eyes went wide when he felt nothing but the fur on his scalp.

"Oh no, where is it?"

"Where's what?"

"My hat! I need my hat!" Po exclaimed.

Po's father glanced around the kitchen until he noticed a pan lying underneath the counter. Mr. Ping bent down and picked it up.

"What are you doing with one of my pans? I've been looking for this for days."

The panda cub grabbed the pan from his dad and placed it back on his head.

"It's not a pan, it's a hat." Po stated in an isn't-it-obvious sort of tone.

Mr. Ping smiled and shook his head.

"Very well, but what am I supposed to cook my noodle soup in then, hm?"

Po's looked at his father, confused.

"Don't you have other pans you can cook with?" He asked.

"I guess, but please be careful with it. That pan is a family heirloom." Mr. Ping informed his son, and then turned around to pick up the yen that he dropped earlier. After gathering up all of the coins, he turned back to his son and placed them in his paws.

"Now listen to me carefully. When you get to the market, you go directly to Mr. Huan's stand. Do not spend the money on anything else _but_ the vegetables. Money is tight lately, so we can't afford to buy extra stuff. Do you understand, Po?" Mr. Ping looked Po dead in his jade eyes.

"Yes daddy, I understand." Po nodded.

"That's my boy! Now go on, we've only got about an hour until lunchtime, so no dilly-daddling. I also want you to be careful. There are a lot of bad people who have been causing trouble in the valley lately."

"Don't worry; no one will want to mess with me. I'll knock them around first before they can even lay a finger on me."

The goose chuckled and shooed Po out of the shop, then returned to his stove to start making the broth.

About fifteen minutes later, Po had arrived at the market square. There weren't a lot of people around, which made Po fell a little relieved that he wouldn't have to work his way through a giant crowd to get to the Mr. Huan's vegetable stand. As he was walking, a sudden gust of wind blew against Po's face and ruffled his "cape". Po looked at the blanket, almost forgetting about what he was wearing, when suddenly an idea popped into his head.

"Don't worry citizens of the Valley of Peace. I am here to protect you from evildoers!"

The panda cub took off in a sprint with his fist held high in the air. He ran into an alleyway, but stopped when he got to a stack of crates blocking his way.

"Nothing can stop justice!" Po proclaimed, and then proceeded to climb over the crates like he was attempting to climb over the Himalayan Mountains. The little panda wasn't even half way over when his breathing started to grow heavier and his muscles began to ache from the strain, but he was determined. He dug his small claws into the edges of the crates, and with one final tug, he flipped himself over the boxes and onto the floor of the alleyway with a thud. He reluctantly got to his feet, but hunched over to catch his breath.

'Man, being a hero is a little harder than I thought.' Po thought to himself.

"Well, if it isn't Ping's boy, Po. It's nice to see you lad. Tell me, what can I do for you?" Mr. Huan, who had a close resemblance to Po's father, despite his speckled appearance, greeted Po with a cheerful grin.

Po was a little shy when it came to talking to other people who weren't his dad, but he pushed the shyness away just enough for him to answer back.

"M- my daddy wanted me to pick up some vegetables for his soup. I got the money right here."

Po walked up to the stand and dumped the change on the counter. The coins were a little moist from the sweat on his palms, but this didn't seem to bother the vendor as he scooped up the change and placed them in his apron pocket.

"Ah yes, I have his order right here." Mr. Huan disappeared behind the cart for a few seconds, and then reappeared, holding a medium-sized sealed crate.

"Do you need a wagon or something to carry this? It's a little heavy."

Po shook his head and grabbed the crate, "No thanks. I'm pretty sure I can handle it."

By now, Mr. Huan noticed Po's attire. His grin widened.

"But of course, I mean, being a Kung Fu warrior like yourself, you've probably with greater tasks. Carrying a crate must be easy to you."

"You know what I am?" Po asked, shocked.

"Yep, every great Kung Fu warrior wears a hat and cape, and might I just say that it's a real honor to be in your presence, Master Po." Mr. Huan stepped away from his cart and bowed.

Po beamed. He actually thought that he was a real warrior. Words could not describe how he was feeling at the moment.

"Thank you Mr. Huan, sir, but I have to get going. My daddy wants me to hurry back before lunch." Po pulled the crate off the cart. No sooner it left the surface, gravity kicked in, and Po was now struggling to keep his grip.

"Are you okay there lad? You know, it's okay to ask for help. There's no shame in doing so." The vendor insisted.

"I'm… fine… this is… a piece of… cake." Po huffed and lifted the crate to his chest. It blocked about half of his line of vision, but this was the only comfortable way of carrying it.

"Thank you… Mr. Huan. Have… a nice day."

"You too. Say hello to the old man for me, will ya?"

"Sure thing. Goodbye."

And with that, Po was on his way back home.

With just a few more blocks to go, Po decided to take a quick break. His arms and paws were screaming to rest, and he was getting tired of running into walls every five seconds. With a grunt, Po set the box down and plopped himself right next to it.

"Phew!" He reached up wiped the beads of sweat from his forehead away, "Maybe he was right. I should've asked for that wagon."

Po looked down at his paw and saw that they were tinted red.

"_You little scoundrel! Get back here with my money! Thief! Thief!"_

Po's ears twitched at the sound of someone yelling. He got to his feet and looked around for the source of the voice.

"_I may be a little aged, but that doesn't mean that I won't be able to catch you!"_ The shouting started to grow a little louder.

Po's eyes wandered to a nearby alley entrance. There, he saw someone appear from around a corner, running in his direction. He watched as the figure propped himself against the side of a house and peer around the corner just in time to see another figure run right past him. The mysterious person smirked and opened his clenched fist to stare at something in his hand.

'Oh wow, this is my chance to be a hero!' The panda cub thought excitedly. He started to run off, until he realized that he almost forgot his father's vegetables. He grunted, picked the crate back up, and hobbled into the alleyway while trying to stay inconspicuous.

* * *

><p>Po hid behind the opposite wall, setting the crate down and peering around the corner.<p>

'Okay, so all I have to do is catch him by surprise. As soon as he looks away, I'll sneak up on him from behind and unleash my Kung Fu moves on him.' Po was so pleased with his plan that he could barely contain his excitement. He felt the adrenaline pumping through his entire body, but he couldn't let himself get carried away. He might blow his cover. Po squinted at the animal to get a better glimpse of the perpetrator, but as soon as he could identify him, he felt his blood run cold. The figure was a scary looking boar with long tusks and a spiked collar. His fur was spiked in every which way, which made him look all the more ferocious. Despite his looks, the boar couldn't be any older than Po.

"Oh geez." Po gasped.

The boar swung his head around. Po quickly pulled his head back and hid behind the wall again.

'Pleasedonteatme. Pleasedonteatme. Pleasedonteatme." He repeated over and over in his head.

The boar snorted and turned back to the money in his hoof.

'What am I doing? I can't be afraid!' Po mentally scolded himself.

With a newfound sense of bravery, he slowly peered around the wall again. The boar now had his back turned to Po. This was his chance.

Po pushed himself off the wall and darted towards the unsuspecting boar.

"_HYA_!" He cried as he threw his furry arms around it's torso and tackled him to the ground. The boar was so shocked that he didn't have time to react as he felt something heavy knock his off his feet and come down hard on his back.

"Ha!" Po cheered as he raised his fist in the air.

"What do you think you're doing?" The boar growled from underneath him. Before Po could blink, he was knocked off of the boar's back.

"You little runt, how _dare_ you mess with me? Do you have a death wish or something?"

"Er… um-" Po stammered.

He got to his feet, towering over Po, and gave the panda one of the fiercest looking glares he had ever seen. His charcoal eyes were blazing with hatred. He threw his fist into his hoof, cracked his knuckles, and then rolled his head around to crack his neck.

"You're in for a lot of pain, tubby."

The poor panda cub gulped. His heart was pounding so hard that he thought it would burst through his chest. His body went on autopilot, allowing his mind to take over, and he turned on his belly and started to crawl away. His legs were too weak to stand up. The boar reached out and grabbed Po's ankle, and yanked him back.

"Where do you think you're going fatso? I'm not through with you yet." He twisted his ankle, making Po cry out in agony. The boar looked him over and smirked.

"So, you like playing hero, huh?" He hooked his hoof between the knot that kept his cape together and Po's neck.

"Hey, I'm asking you a question! Do you like playing hero? Answer me dumpling boy!" The boar rammed his fist into Po's gut.

"_Yeees!_" He cried out painfully. Tears began to blur his eyesight.

The boar chuckled darkly, "Oh, this is going to be fun."

He pulled on the knot. Po felt the air hitch in his throat. Was he going to choke him with his own cape? The boar had Po eye-to-eye.

"I'm going to make this slow and agonizing for you, so unless you'd prefer some extra broken bones, I'd suggest you cooperate."

"And I'd suggest you put the panda down or you'll be the one experiencing an excruciating amount of pain." A female voice intervened.

Both Po and the boar turned their heads to face a young tiger cub. Her paws were bawled into fists and her face was scrunched up into a snarl. The boar dropped Po, who immediately fell to his knees and coughed.

"Oh, will you lookie here. Now we got _two_ wannabe heroes. Listen here toots, why don't you just go back to whatever rock you crawled out of and leave me to my business, okay? Okay. Bye bye now." The boar spun around and grabbed a fistful of Po's blanket in his hoof.

"Don't. Touch. _Him_." Her voice grew more menacingly with each word that came out of her mouth.

"And just what are _you_ going to do about it?" He laughed and tugged at Po's cape. Po threw his paws around his neck in an attempt to untie himself from the torturous piece of fabric.

Seeing what he was doing to poor Po enraged the tiger.

"I said _ENOUGH_!" She leapt forward and delivered a powerful punch to the boar's shoulder, making him let go and fly back into a wall. She stood protectively in front of the panda and raised her arms into a fighting stance.

"That little-" The boar seethed, "You are going to pay! You're both going to pay!"

"I'll give you one final warning to hand over what you stole and leave or you'll suffer the consequences." She spoke in a low voice.

"I don't think so."

The boar sprung up from where he had fallen and charged at the two.

"We're going to die!" Po cried out and shielded his face behind his paws.

The tiger cub seemed to have had a different attitude. She did not flinch or cower. Just as the boar was about deliver a kick to her stomach, she raised her arm, blocked it, grabbed his leg, and spun him on his back. His back let out a horrible crunch sound. Before he could even move (or attempt to anyhow) she placed her foot firmly on his chest to sustain him.

"Now, hand over the money." She stuck her paw in his face.

His trembling hoof reached into his pants pocket and handed the yen to her.

"Good boy." She mocked and slowly removed her foot.

"Get the heck out of here, and don't let me catch you causing trouble around here again." She pulled him violently to his feet and shoved him out of the alley. The boar stumbled, but caught his balance and did what she instructed him to do, got the heck out of there.

All was quiet now. Po was speechless. He couldn't decide whether to be completely thrilled or completely terrified at what had just transpired. The tiger cub huffed.

"And good riddance to bad trash." She growled.

Slowly, she started to turn around.

"Are you alright? He didn't hurt you too bad did he?" She asked with much concern.

Po blinked. Everything she just said didn't seem to register in his mind. So instead, he considered to stare at her. The tiger assumed that Po was traumatized from how she acted. Her ears flattened against her head.

"I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to get carried away-"

"Sorry? For what? You just saved my life!" Po gushed.

"Not to mention you kicked the snot out of that guy, which was totally awesome! You're so awesome!"

Now it was her turn to blink.

"You think I'm… awesome?" She asked.

"You bet! You were like… some sort of Kung Fu legend!"

The tiger cub looked down at her feet bashfully, "Well, I'm just looking out for the citizens of the Valley of Peace."

"What's your name?" Po asked.

"My what?"

"Your name, I uh… I was just wondering. I bet it's a supercool name!"

"Oh, my name. Yeah, it's… uh… it's… Tigress." She finished lamely.

"Tigress?"

"Yeah."

"Wow, it's even cooler than I thought! Master Tigress, yeah that sounds so cool!"

Tigress looked up and smiled a little.

"I'm not technically a Master yet. I'm still training at the Jade Palace under Master Shifu and Grandmaster Oogway."

"WHOA!" The panda cub jumped to his feet, "You're an actual Kung Fu protegy? Awe-some! OhmygoshohmygoshOHMYGOSH! Okay Po, calm down. Don't lose your cool."

"I was just about to say that." Tigress smirked.

"I'm sorry; I'm probably freaking you out." Po frowned.

"A little bit." She admitted, but when she saw his crestfallen face she added, "But I'm happy to know that I have a fan."

"So, uh, I'm assuming that nothing's broken since you're all energetic and everything. Do you need my help with that crate? I noticed that you were struggling with it earlier."

"Huh? Oh, the crate. Yeah, uh-" Po was about to decline her offer, but a familiar voice spoke in his head.

"_It's okay to ask for help. There's no shame in doing so."_

"Maybe I could use a little help." He said finally.

Tigress smiled and nodded. She walked towards the crate of vegetables, but stopped when her foot hit something. She looked down and saw the pan that Po was using as a hat.

"I think this belongs to you." Tigress handed him the pot.

"Oh, thank you. My dad would kill me if I lost this." Po placed it back on his head as he walked besides Tigress and showed her the way to his house.

* * *

><p>"Tigress, there you are. I've been looking all over for you." A green tree viper slithered up to the panda and tiger.<p>

"Oh, hi Viper. Sorry about ditching you earlier, but I was helping this guy out with something." Tigress motioned to Po with the crate.

"I see, but I'm sorry to say that we have to return to the Jade Palace right away. Master Shifu wanted us back an hour ago. Come on Tigress!" Viper coiled the end of her tail around Tigress's paw and tugged at it.

"Wait a minute Viper! I have to help him." Tigress persisted.

"We can't waste any more time. We need to leave _now_."

"Okay okay." She handed Po the crate, "I'm really sorry about leaving you like this, but my Master needs me."

"It's alright. Duty calls, right?" Po grinned.

Tigress grinned back, "Right. Maybe I'll see you around sometime. Hopefully you won't be getting your butt kicked the next time we meet."

Po scratched the back of his head, "Yeah, I'll leave the hero business to you."

"See ya." And just like that, she was gone. Po continued to stare in the direction she left for a few more moments before he noticed that he was just outside of his dad's noodle shop.

He stumbled into the kitchen and set the vegetables down.

"Po, where have you been? You had me worried!" Mr. Ping exclaimed as he climbed down the stairs.

"I'm sorry dad; I got lost on the way back." Po lied.

"We've been living here for nine years and you're still getting lost? You didn't have any trouble finding the place the last time you ran an errand for me." Mr. Ping rubbed the bottom of his beak suspiciously.

"Well… uh… um… err… the crate was blocking my sight, so I, uh, went down the wrong street."

Mr. Ping eyed his son for a few more seconds. He sighed and pulled his son in for an affectionate hug.

"I'm just glad you're alright."

Mr. Ping looked up and saw the box of vegetables in the corner.

"And you brought back my vegetables! Thank you, Po."

"You're welcome daddy. I'm going to go and head up to my room now so that I can rest. That crate was heavy." Po started to walk up the stairs.

"Don't you want some soup?" Po's father asked.

"Maybe later, I'm not really hungry right now."

Mr. Ping did a double take.

'Not hungry? Since when is that boy not hungry?' He pondered to himself.

Po pulled himself up on his windowsill and looked up at the Palace that towered over the Valley of Peace. He had long since taken off his makeshift Kung Fu Warrior costume.

"I wonder what she's doing right now." Po whispered.

"Probably training really hard so that one day, she'll become a great warrior."

Po sighed and rested his head on his paw.

"She's really lucky. I don't think I'm good enough to be like her. I mean, I completely screwed up at being a hero."

He rubbed his neck, which was still sore from being strangled.

"I shouldn't let that get to me. I'll just do what she's doing and train, so that someday, I too can become a great warrior."

Po pulled himself away from the windowsill and curled up on his futon. He stretched his arms out and yawned, and soon enough, he had dosed off, dreaming of nothing other than Kung Fu.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** Sorry about the lame ending, but I've been at this for an about a week. I guess I was getting a little impatient. Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. I know the interaction between Po and Tigress was sort of lame, but I thought they should have moments where they're not in love. The grammar, spelling, and punctuation were probably crappy too but I'm not perfect. Let me know what you think :)

~Inkblot95


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